Carolina Vending Sees Pure Water As Profitable Addition To ServicesTim SanfordRALEIGH, NC (October 2007) — Water is one of the foundations on which full-line vending and office coffee service were built. The need for effective water treatment to prepare the beverages dispensed by coffee and postmix cold-drink vending machines offered an important incentive to the development of modern in-line water filtration and demineralizing technology, and the outcome was today’s reliable cartridge-based systems.

NAMA 2007 National Expo Tackles Trends And TechnologyTim SanfordCHICAGO (October 2007) — Market forces and technical developments affecting the vending industry will be in the spotlight at the National Automatic Merchandising Association National Expo here. Featuring a streamlined Wednesday-through-Friday schedule with expanded educational opportunities, the event is set for October 10 through 12.

AMI Launches New Web Tool For Digital Music ManagementGRAND RAPIDS, MI (October 2007) — AMI Entertainment, the music content and technology division of jukebox manufacturer Rowe International Corp., is launching a new website featuring enhanced tools that simplify the remote management of Internet-enabled jukeboxes. The jukebox music provider began migrating AMI subscribers to the new site – located at amientertainment.net – in August, and expects the process to complete in the fall.

BAM Unites Brunswick Tradition With Valley-Dynamo ExperienceGRAND PRAIRIE, TX (October 2007) — The new amusement machine division of Brunswick Billiards and Bowling will stage its official launch this November in Orlando at the IAAPA Attractions Expo. At the annual parks show, Brunswick Amusement Machine will have its own exhibit, apart from other Brunswick divisions, which includes coin-op table-game maker Valley-Dynamo.

TouchTunes Acquires White Rabbit Games; Readies PlayPorTT Portable Entertainment TabletNick MontanoNEW YORK CITY (October 2007)— TouchTunes Music Corp. has acquired White Rabbit Games Studio LLC, a company that has developed a portable location-based entertainment device that offers games and jukebox music selections. TouchTunes, administrator of America’s largest digital jukebox network, believes the acquisition will give it a platform to widen its footprint in the out-of-home entertainment space.

EDITORIAL: The Codfish And The Hen, RevisitedTim SanfordOne of our colleagues, who finds herself navigating through the contemporary world with three small children in tow, recently told us of an experience which we suspect is widely shared. It certainly is not novel; industry observers have been concerned about it for half a century or more… By Tim Sanford

EDITORIAL: The Codfish Doesn’t Cackle...Tim SanfordThose who have attended enough sales training seminars have heard a little verse explaining why, although the codfish lays 10,000 eggs and the “homely hen” lays one, we esteem the hen much more highly. The reason for this value perception is that “The codfish doesn’t cackle/To tell us what she’s done.”… By TIM SANFORD

EDITORIAL: Can A Realist Also Be An Optimist?Marcus WebbCan a realist in the amusement machine industry also be an optimist? Absolutely. Meet Jim Turntine, CEO of Play-Mor Coin-Op and Wonder Novelty (Sullivan, MO). This industry will survive, and thrive, thanks to people like him. He is a calm and practical realist who looks conditions in the eye and calls things by their right names. At the same time, he is an optimist – but one who believes in creating his own opportunities…By MARCUS WEBB